Monster
by Platinumsabr
Summary: For him, it always came down to the same thing. It was always at the center, be it as a thirst or a way of creation. Nonetheless, it was what made him into what he was, only...what was he?


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Rosario+Vampire, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story. I also don't own Skillet, or their song _Monster_, I just couldn't ignore the congruity between Tsukune and its lyrics. Simple enough, ne? Just don't copy from this story and we're all good!

.

**Monster**

**.**

_The secret side of me  
I never let you see  
I keep it caged but I can't control it  
So stay away from me  
The beast is ugly  
I feel the rage and I just can't hold it  
..._

The first time he had forgotten everything, known nothing of what he had been doing. But there was thought, instinct. Blood. Death. It was called as a carrion; the desire above all to feel the hot liquid of another's lifeblood coating its flesh, filling its mouth, quenching the insatiable thirst to _keep on existing_.

The being had stood that first time, dark tattoos etched in the essence of evil wrapped lovingly around its neck and up its cheeks, pointing like demonic flames to the cruel red eyes devoid of any concept of mercy. Its foe had caused the person borne into it great pain, caused the frail human's love no end of suffering under a torrent of useless water.

It was to this environment the creature had opened its eyes, and the first thing it had taken note of was a fist barreling down at it. Blood coated its hands, its body, its surroundings. There was no fight involved with Midou or his ragtag group of outcasts, no, it was a _massacre_. It was alive, and as long as it was alive it could kill.

And it smiled.

_._..  
_It's scratchin' on the walls  
In the closet, in the halls  
It comes awake and I can't control it  
Hidin' under the bed  
In my body, in my head  
Why won't somebody come and save me from this  
Make it end  
..._

He fought a never-ending battle that she could never understand. She was by nature a being that took a portion of another's essence to sustain an eternal existence. For her the thirst was a part of life she had always known, something she simply couldn't ignore if she wanted to keep on living. He was a forgery, an imitation trying desperately to maintain his illusion of control, all the while lusting for blood, for _her_ blood. _His_ nature had been irreparably altered, and she simply couldn't understand.

He loved her, lusted for her, wanted her more than any man in existence could ever claim. There was something else however, a far darker desire hidden far better. One he would never admit, one he was ashamed of deep in the core of his soul. One that questioned whether he even had a soul at all.

_._..  
_I feel it deep within  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I feel like a monster  
I hate what I've become  
The nightmare's just begun  
I must confess that I feel like a monster  
I, I feel like a monster  
I, I feel like a monster  
..._

The demon had done the inexcusable.

What had been an unexplained assault upon his person had warped into a lecture that prodded the instincts higher, teased the longsuffering chains he had wrapped around that being. He knew. Lying didn't suit him, but over this he couldn't lie. To lie would mean to admit there was something to lie about, and if he even admitted those desires existed he would have to cut off contact just for peace of mind.

But then she had been brought into it personally. Anger had sparked new life to his damaged body, anger at his own futility, anger at the demon that had the audacity to hurt the one he cared for more than his own humanity. The chains wore thinner, but he didn't notice.

When her blood rained down onto the imitation and beautiful rivulets of crimson painted down his hand, it broke free.

Someone else had opened what was _it's_, wasted the delicacy _it_ craved! For that he paid, and as the pincers struck down it had struck out, tearing those useless appendages from their sockets like it was nothing under the force. New direction fixed those red eyes, new anger burning brightly.

And it smiled.

_...  
My secret side I keep  
Hid under lock and key  
I keep it caged but I can't control it  
Cause if I let him out  
He'll tear me up, break me down  
Why won't somebody come and save me from this  
Make it end  
..._

He was terrified of his own blood, terrified of the thing kept hostage within the links of holy metal around his wrist, the only thing keeping the one he loved from ending him permanently. She had tried once already, but he knew he needed the strength. If he wanted to survive, if he wanted to protect those precious to him, he needed the strength.

Once again the chains thinned as the person known only for his vandalism endangered that existence, but the hold then tightened in pure fury when once again the woman he cared for most was put in harms way. The chains would not break this time, he wouldn't allow it.

For the first time, the beast was no longer an it.

_...  
I feel it deep within  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I feel like a monster  
I hate what I've become  
The nightmare's just begun  
I must confess that I feel like a monster  
I feel it deep within  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I feel like a monster  
I, I feel like a monster  
I, I feel like a monster  
..._

Wrought from savagery and bloodlust, dark markings once more traced their way around his neck and up his face as the spider held its charge in his menacing grip. Uselessness clawed at the imitation, until the wear from time became apparent. Chains worn from neglect stretched thin under blows that would have felled a lesser man, and that which knew no mercy awoke.

But it was not a man.

It fought with even more direction than before, new instincts honed into its subsistence. The spider paid its weight in limbs and blood for endangered her, for threatening its own life. Had it been normal it would not have stopped, would have feasted right there, but the lock was still in place, and it still had direction it needed to heed. The ultimate imitator stood its opponent, but it would not falter, it would fill its need, it would protect those he imperiled. The surprise was plain on the fake's face, but he knew not what he was against.

And it smiled.

_...  
Its hidin' in the dark  
Its teeth are razor sharp  
There's no escape for me  
It wants my soul it wants my heart  
No one can hear me scream  
Maybe its just a dream  
Or maybe its inside of me  
Stop this monster  
..._

He no longer cared what the consequences were. He could protect them, he could protect _her_. Direction was no longer the concern, now it was he. Those who chose to stand against them, enemies with the foolish desire to wreak battle and barbarity among the world once again, met that, met _him._ No more would he be weak, standing on the sidelines while those he loved risked their lives.

Now he would be beside them.

Now they would finish everything together.

_..._  
_I feel it deep within  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I (feel like a monster)  
I hate what I've become  
The nightmare's just begun  
I must confess that I feel like a monster  
I feel it deep within  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I feel like a monster  
I've gotta lose control  
It's something radical  
I must confess that I feel like a monster  
I, I feel like a monster  
I, I feel like a monster  
I, I feel like a monster  
I, I feel like a monster_

_..._

Silver hair danced wildly in the air, a divine lock broken and discarded. Chains held secure for years were thrown away as he let himself lose that control, and it was revealed what was _really_ underneath. Sometimes letting go was the best thing to do, and in doing so he had discovered what had truly been clawing at him.

The thirst for her blood and flesh was changed, tamed, no different from the same craving for any other. Red eyes _defined_ by mercy stared into the red eyes of the one he loved, and in that moment he knew the beast was _not_ ugly, the beast was not an _it_. He _was_ a monster, and he had never been happier as their lips met, their enemies crushed beneath their power, they and their friends' combined, overwhelming might.

And Tsukune Aono smiled.

He _was_ a monster…and he liked it.

…

**Author's Notes:** Not a big fan of songfics myself, and I've never written one before either, but since the anime has so idiotically discarded Tsukune's ghoul nature and the whole plot in general—making an AMV impossible—I thought I had to write this. The song was just perfect for Tsukune, much like Three Days Grace, _Animal I Have Become_. I highly recommend you look up Skillet's _Monster_ on youtube, or buy the album. I decided to take a break from writing my newest chapter of Here In My Arms for a few minutes, and this is what came out. Hopefully I'll have it out by the end of the week though, to those wondering.

It was a short story, but I like how it turned out nonetheless.

If you wouldn't mind telling me how I did, I'd appreciate it.


End file.
